Contesting sharia : state law, decentralization and Minangkabau custom

Abstract

This book explains how Sharia,

commonly called Perda Sharia (Sharia by-law) in Indonesia, was

legislated on the provincial, regional and municipal level in West

Sumatra. This process began after the government started a decentralization policy in 2000. Although the law of local autonomy prescribes that religious matters are excluded from the authority of local government, the legislation of Sharia by local authorities is justified by the argument that Sharia, in addition to Minangkabau custom (adat), has become an identity marker of the people (as goes the local maxim: ‘adat is based on Sharia, Sharia is based on the Quran’ [adat basandi Syara’, Syara’ basandi Kitabullah/ABSSBK]). The Sharia by-laws that are dealt with in this book fall into four categories: public morality, Muslim dress code, the obligation to be able to recite the Quran and Islamic charity institutions. This thesis examines the following stages of the realization of Sharia by-laws: the draft of a law, the public and parliamentary discussion and debates about it and finally its text and implementation. It is concluded that justification for local Sharia legislation is debatable, not in the least because there is no explicit rule that gives authority to the local governments to legislate Sharia laws